Nathan Outlaw, the Cornwall-based chef, on his penchant for tinned hot dogs
and how to get the most from fish.

The Cornwall-based chef Nathan Outlaw, whose restaurant at the St Enodoc Hotel, Rock, has two Michelin stars, opened Outlaw’s at the Capital Hotel, Knightsbridge, in October, and plans to open Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen in Looe Harbour. Nathan Outlaw’s British Seafood was published last year

What do you have for breakfast?

As with most parents, breakfast during the week has to be quick. Usually I make porridge from Quaker Oats and semi-skimmed milk, with Porteath honey. In the kitchens we have a brunch that keeps us going until the evening. It’s usually something traditional – free-range eggs poached, scrambled or fried, local sausages and bacon, Heinz baked beans, toast and Cornish butter.

What’s your favourite late-night snack?

Davidstow Cornish Crackler cheese on white toast. By the time I get in from service I’m too tired to bother with much, so this is ideal. I sometimes add Heinz tomato sauce or a sprinkling of curry powder. Or smoked mackerel and beetroot with mayonnaise and horseradish, served with crusty bread and Cornish butter.

Onions and carrots. Without them we’d be lost for flavouring all sorts of things. In terms of fish it would have to be grey mullet, which has a reputation for being 'muddy’ but has a lovely unique flavour due to the fatty acids it contains.

What’s the best food present anyone’s ever given you?

A salad spinner. There’s nothing worse than soggy salad. It’s such a simple gadget and they’re cheap to buy.

What’s your guilty food secret?

Tinned hot-dog sausages. Really sad, but I love them. Especially in a soft white roll with lots of fried onions. It reminds me of going to watch football as a boy.

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF FISH

Descaling

Immerse the fish in cold water and use a descaler to take the scales off under water so they don’t fly all over the place.

What’s in season

Lemon sole, a delicately flavoured fish best simply grilled and served with herb butter and lemon. Also cod, as long as it has been responsibly fished. Bake steaks for eight to 10 minutes on a bed of vegetables softened in a frying-pan, with a splash of white wine then added.

What to look for when buying fish

It should look alive – bright eyes, dark red under the gills and any scales intact. Flat fish should be covered in a thin layer of slime. It should smell of the sea and not 'fishy’.

Best place for a crab sandwich

Fresh from the Sea, in Port Isaac, Cornwall, run by Calum and Tracey Greenhalgh. Calum fishes lobster and crab from a small boat, and what he catches each day is what’s on the menu. He also does mail order (01208-880849).